Thoughts and observations about the Start Up community

Monday Nov 23, 2009

When you officially launch your startup and send out a flurry of
press releases, the silence can be deafening while you wait for the
phone to ring and reporters to call you. Here are some tips to improve
your chances of getting noticed by the media.

Friday Nov 13, 2009

What an evening of discussion and education on Brand, Michael Bayler gave an amazingly energetic hours talk on brand and how important it is to be clear about your brand strategy before you do anything else. The video of this event will be available in a few weeks time and thus all Sun Startup Essential members who couldn't make the event can watch the material and gain an insight into this wonderful evening.[Read More]

Thursday Nov 12, 2009

Have you ever had a great idea for a startup but needed the motivation and encouragement to actually make it a reality? Join theStartup Weekend community and find out how easy it is to go from idea to launch in only 54 hours! [Read More]

Jez Kay is Owner of NowHouse,
a digital video and sound production company based in London. He helps
businesses inject personality into their brands through vision,
soundtracks and the occasional song and dance. Greg Dyke's talk early on the 22nd October at Sun Start-Essentials HQ, as a guest speaker of Federation 100 was engaging, illuminating, mischevious and all-in-all pretty inspiring.

Busy entrepreneurs need to stay on top of all the latest startup information, but who has the time? Here's a look at what went on around blogosphere and in the news this week, in case you missed it.[Read More]

Tuesday Nov 03, 2009

SmallBizPod is a podcast, blog, news and
community site for small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. This
is how it all happened.

Back in March 2005, Alex Bellinger became one of only a handful of people in the UK to start podcasting.

Looking around for a subject he realised there were no British-based
podcasts on business. Since he had just set up his own business and had
spent many years focusing on the small business sector, a podcast on
entrepreneurship seemed like a good way to go.

SmallBizPod was born. The podcast, blog and website now attract tens
of thousands of listeners and readers a month from all over the world.

Inspire, Inform, Entertain

From the start SmallBizPod has been there to inspire, to inform, and to be
fun to listen to and read as well. I think thanks to some wonderful
contributors and interviewees, it's achieved just that.

Over
time, the site has grown to become one of the most visited sites for
SMEs in the UK. It's also developed into a wonderful free audio
resource to provide inspiration and advice from business people with
real experience and real insight.

Take the time to listen to some inspiring interviews from some renowned people on subjects such as marketing, business advice, funding and many more, the beauty is that these are free and really insighful and great to hear that not just you in that Startup boat alone.

All the advice from startup industry analysts who
recommend entrepreneurs consider starting new green-tech business
aren't just spouting rhetoric. Finance mogul George Soros recently committed a whopping $1 billion to the clean-tech startup sector.

Do you have trouble balancing work and home life? Do you
love the art of the deal? Are you addicted to pursuing the next big
opportunity? You may be an entre-holic.

Some startups don't need barrels of money to get off the ground. If you're a U.S.-based business looking for a micro-loan, there's a good chance Kiva.org can help.

Startups looking to raise capital sometimes hire finders to help them out. If this is something you're considering, â€œWe canâ€™t find investors on our ownâ€� isn't a good enough reason to go this route.

Scary. Nerve-wracking. Exciting. Game changing. There are several ways
to describe what it's like to pitch to a venture capitalist (VC) or
angel investor, but boring typically isn't one of them. Considering the
possibilities that go along with an large influx of cash, the
experience of pitching a VC is both invigorating and anxiety-ridden at
the same time. Here are six ways to make the job a little easier.[Read More]

Tuesday Oct 20, 2009

Brand
strategy is one of the most fraught areas of marketing, though also one
of the most important. As a Startup it's often the element that gets
left behind and not really identified. But how can you tell an investor
what business you are in, if you don't really know yourself? It's a
vital step in creating the company identity.

The
key point is you can’t have a strategy without a clear objective.
Restating a goal is not strategy, execution is not strategy, and
tactics are not strategy. This masterclass will demonstrate why a
strategic approach to brand management can play a crucial role in
defining a strong, winning identity for your company.

What does this mean ?

When
you're talking to investors, you'll be able to clearly articulate who
your market is, describe how talking and listening to your customers
will better equip you to target your audience and take your message
out, in these tough economic times.

Why should I attend
this masterclass?

Because you will learn to define:

what business are we REALLY in?

in that context, what's our positioning?

who are our key stakeholders? Which are most important at this stage?

can we crisply define and communicate the compelling value we offer?

what are our core and secondary value propositions?

having
established all the above, are we able - in plain language and briefly
- to communicate our differentiated and powerful branding to clients,
partners, media and investors?

Hear
from Michael Bayler, a senior consultant and published author,
specialising in consumer-led marketing and innovation. Mike has a
wealth of experience speaking on current issues such as post-Internet
brand strategy, consumer culture, digital marketing, and branded
entertainment. Having advised some of the world’s leading brands, media
companies and international stars, including Nokia, Diageo, Telefonica,
Bacardi Global Brands, Sky, BT, Sony BMG, Sony ATV, Ogilvy &
Mather, Robbie Williams, Dido and Simon Cowell, Mike know's his stuff!